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| 7 Holiday Season Safety Tips |
The holiday season is traditionally a time of family get-togethers and social events, but all-too-often it’s marred by tragic accidents. For example:
• Dry Christmas trees, candles, overloaded or defective wiring for decorative lights, fireplaces stuffed with wrapping paper and malfunctioning heating systems all increase the risk of fire;
• Slippery winter driving conditions and alcohol consumption contribute to traffic accidents; and
• Decking the halls, both indoors and out, often result in falls.
Here are 7 tips to help you and your employees have a safe and happy holiday season.
1. Choose a fresh Christmas tree, not a dry one. Set it up in a container of water and add more water as required. A dry tree is a fire hazard, so keep your tree fresh and moist.
2. If you think this combination of water and Christmas tree lights sounds dangerous, you’re right! Keep the container of water covered and do not allow electrical lights to come anywhere near it.
3. Ensure your Christmas tree lights are in good condition and free of electrical defects or any signs of wear or damage. All lights must be working before hanging up the lights.
4. Many broken legs and worse injuries have resulted from ladder accidents when tacking up decorations. Don’t stand on makeshift supports such as chairs. Use a stepstool or stepladder for putting up indoor lights and other ornaments. And use the ladder safely when putting up outdoor lights. Follow the same best practices you’d follow at work.
5. Family baking and cooking efforts are an enjoyable holiday activity, but be aware of the hazards of slippery floors, cutting tools and simmering pots on the stove.
6. Don’t burn wrapping paper or cardboard in fireplaces or stoves. It’s safer to send these items out with the garbage or recycling.
7. Supervise young children throughout the holidays. When the household is in an uproar and there are many new items to investigate, a toddler is likely find something hazardous to play with.
Hazards never take a holiday. Protect your workers year-round. Select the Seasonal Safety Training Materials on SafetySmart where you’ll find many safety talks, articles, e-Learning courses, fatality reports, posters and more that you can use to help keep your workers healthy and safe.
Need access to additional resources on this topic? Try SafetySmart today and get immediate access to safety talks, presentations and more. Sign up for a free 14-day trial now. |
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| Saving the planet’s resources is commendable, but this skinny scaffold may not save this worker’s neck. While the bush below might provide a little cushioning from a fall, would you want to chance working on this set-up? (Naval Safety Center) |
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| Can a Court Keep You from Operating as a Penalty for Environmental Violations? |
SITUATION
Substantial parts of a developer’s 455 acres of land border a river and its watershed, including ponds, floodplains, wetlands, marshes and fish habitats. These sections are regulated by a Conservation Authority, which has the power to require permits for development.
The developer does some work without a permit, including dredging a watercourse and digging a trench. When the Authority tells him to stop, he refuses. In fact, he says he’s got more development work planned and has no intention of getting permits for any of it. The Authority asks the court to issue an “injunction” barring the developer from doing any more work on the land without a permit.
The developer says that because the Authority knew about other unpermitted work he’d done before and didn’t protest then, it couldn’t object to his unpermitted work now.
QUESTION
Can the court bar the developer from doing work on his land?
A. Yes, because it’s in the public interest to stop unauthorized work that harms the environment.
B. Yes, because the developer indicated that he intends to keep doing illegal work.
C. No, because the developer owns the land.
D. No, because the Authority knew about prior illegal work and didn’t do anything about it.
Read the answer on OHS Insider
(Note: subscription is required; to get instant access to the recording of this webinar, simply sign up for a No-Obligation Trial of OHSInsider.com. Sign up now and you will be entered into a drawing to win an iPad!
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| National Transportation Safety Board Wants Nationwide Ban on PEDs |
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has called for the first-ever nationwide ban on driver use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle.
The call came following the NTSB’s meeting regarding a 2010 multi-vehicle highway accident in Gray Summit, MO. A pickup truck driven by a 19-year-old man ran into the back of a semi truck that had slowed because of an active construction zone.
A school bus struck the back of the pickup truck and a second school bus rear-ended the first school bus. The pickup truck driver and a 15-year-old student on board one of the buses died and 38 others were injured.
An NTSB investigation found that the pickup driver had sent and received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes preceding the accident. The last text was received moments before the pickup truck collided with the tractor-trailer.
The board is calling for all 50 states and the District of Columbia to ban the non-emergency use of portable electronic devices, other than those designed to support the driving task, for all drivers.
“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents. It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving,” says NTSB chair Deborah Hersman. “No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life.”
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Related story: Why Workers Need to Park Those Cell Phones, Even if They Aren’t Driving
(Note: Subscription is required. To get instant access, simply sign up for a No-Cost Trial of Safe Supervisor.) |
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